Police report details Cargiles' final days

Published: Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 6:47 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 6:47 p.m.

A Galveston Police Department report released last week says a Henderson County couple who took their own lives in a Texas hotel room in August might have had "severe financial trouble."

Galveston police found 56-year-old Dr. Leslie Jones Cargile and her husband, William Cargile, 58, dead in a Holiday Inn hotel room in a suspected double suicide on Aug. 24. Galveston's Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Pustilnik confirmed that the two committed suicide using a toxic cocktail of painkillers and sedatives.

Authorities believe Leslie Cargile, a Black Mountain physician, and William Cargile, a contractor, left a hotel room in Mobile, Ala., on Aug. 18 and arrived in Galveston the next day. They paid $1,110.85 in cash for five days in Room 302 at the Holiday Inn, 8628 Seawall Blvd., according to a report by Detective N. McDermott.

A front desk clerk told Galveston police that the Cargiles checked in on Aug. 19. Another front desk clerk told police that he made dinner reservations for the couple at Fisherman's Wharf, and that they appeared to be "in a decent mood when they returned" about 9:30 p.m., tipping him $10.

When the couple failed to check out five days later, front desk manager Yvonne Gisclair went to the room and "attempted to make contact," according to the report. No sound came from the room, she told police.

She unlocked the door, but it was latched from the inside. Hanging on the outside knob was a "do not disturb" placard scribbled with a message in black marker: "Do not disturb until noon Thursday, Thank you! Do not disturb please!" according to Officer M. Clements.

A hotel maintenance employee busted the latch with a hammer to force open the door and found the couple on the couch, according to the report.

"The bed was made, but there was one side with the covers pulled back and a spot which appeared as if someone was sitting or leaning on the bed," according to the report by Clements. Several pills were on the night stand to the left of the bed, he noted.

William Cargile was leaning toward his wife on the couch, according to the report. Pustilnik noted in his autopsy that William Cargile died one or two days before his wife.

A trash can was at each end of the couch and one contained "approximately four syringes and other medical items," Clement reported.

On the table in front of the couch, he said, he observed four glasses, a white bowl containing a brown substance, three notes and three pills. A couple of pills were found on Mrs. Cargile's body, he added.

Sgt. M. Pilsner said in the report that a .357-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun was found inside the hotel room. Henderson County sheriff's deputies noted that the weapon was missing from the Cargiles' residence.

The couple's black Mercedes Benz S500 was in the parking lot outside.

Pilsner said that after speaking with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office, he learned the Cargiles had made reservations at a Laredo, Texas, motel, but they never checked in.

"I learned the Cargiles lived in an expensive home and were believed to be in severe financial trouble," he wrote in his report. "Evidence at the scene suggests that their deaths had been premeditated due to recipes and instructions on taking certain pills."

Toxicology tests revealed 12 drugs in the body of William Cargile and 15 drugs in the blood of Leslie Cargile, including the sleep-aid, Ambien, and opiates. Pustilnik noted that 12 medications and "two homemade capsules with yellow and red particulate matter, a mortar and pestle with crushed pill residue and a red funnel with pill residue in it" were found with the body of William Cargile.

Also found with his body were a U.S. passport and a black wallet, which the medical examiner's office said included $862 in bills and a "paper folded with white powdery" material that tested negative for cocaine and methamphetamine.

The results of William Cargile's autopsy took longer to complete than his wife's because of the "advanced decomposition" of his body, according to Pustilnik.

No evidence of trauma was noted with either of the Cargiles, who lived at Lake Summit.

<p>A Galveston Police Department report released last week says a Henderson County couple who took their own lives in a Texas hotel room in August might have had "severe financial trouble." </p><p>Galveston police found 56-year-old Dr. Leslie Jones Cargile and her husband, William Cargile, 58, dead in a Holiday Inn hotel room in a suspected double suicide on Aug. 24. Galveston's Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Pustilnik confirmed that the two committed suicide using a toxic cocktail of painkillers and sedatives.</p><p>Authorities believe Leslie Cargile, a Black Mountain physician, and William Cargile, a contractor, left a hotel room in Mobile, Ala., on Aug. 18 and arrived in Galveston the next day. They paid $1,110.85 in cash for five days in Room 302 at the Holiday Inn, 8628 Seawall Blvd., according to a report by Detective N. McDermott.</p><p>A front desk clerk told Galveston police that the Cargiles checked in on Aug. 19. Another front desk clerk told police that he made dinner reservations for the couple at Fisherman's Wharf, and that they appeared to be "in a decent mood when they returned" about 9:30 p.m., tipping him $10.</p><p>When the couple failed to check out five days later, front desk manager Yvonne Gisclair went to the room and "attempted to make contact," according to the report. No sound came from the room, she told police. </p><p>She unlocked the door, but it was latched from the inside. Hanging on the outside knob was a "do not disturb" placard scribbled with a message in black marker: "Do not disturb until noon Thursday, Thank you! Do not disturb please!" according to Officer M. Clements.</p><p>A hotel maintenance employee busted the latch with a hammer to force open the door and found the couple on the couch, according to the report.</p><p>"The bed was made, but there was one side with the covers pulled back and a spot which appeared as if someone was sitting or leaning on the bed," according to the report by Clements. Several pills were on the night stand to the left of the bed, he noted.</p><p>William Cargile was leaning toward his wife on the couch, according to the report. Pustilnik noted in his autopsy that William Cargile died one or two days before his wife.</p><p>A trash can was at each end of the couch and one contained "approximately four syringes and other medical items," Clement reported.</p><p>On the table in front of the couch, he said, he observed four glasses, a white bowl containing a brown substance, three notes and three pills. A couple of pills were found on Mrs. Cargile's body, he added.</p><p>Sgt. M. Pilsner said in the report that a .357-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun was found inside the hotel room. Henderson County sheriff's deputies noted that the weapon was missing from the Cargiles' residence.</p><p>The couple's black Mercedes Benz S500 was in the parking lot outside.</p><p>Pilsner said that after speaking with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office, he learned the Cargiles had made reservations at a Laredo, Texas, motel, but they never checked in. </p><p>"I learned the Cargiles lived in an expensive home and were believed to be in severe financial trouble," he wrote in his report. "Evidence at the scene suggests that their deaths had been premeditated due to recipes and instructions on taking certain pills."</p><p>Toxicology tests revealed 12 drugs in the body of William Cargile and 15 drugs in the blood of Leslie Cargile, including the sleep-aid, Ambien, and opiates. Pustilnik noted that 12 medications and "two homemade capsules with yellow and red particulate matter, a mortar and pestle with crushed pill residue and a red funnel with pill residue in it" were found with the body of William Cargile.</p><p>Also found with his body were a U.S. passport and a black wallet, which the medical examiner's office said included $862 in bills and a "paper folded with white powdery" material that tested negative for cocaine and methamphetamine.</p><p>The results of William Cargile's autopsy took longer to complete than his wife's because of the "advanced decomposition" of his body, according to Pustilnik. </p><p>No evidence of trauma was noted with either of the Cargiles, who lived at Lake Summit.</p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>